Thru a half-empty bottle
by Daikataro
Summary: A vision thru Yowane Haku's eyes of the whereabouts of the vocaloid members and her own, after the split of the "friends band" due to the usual artistical missmatches. Involves quite a bit of alcohol drinking, ranting and memories of a better (or less depressing) past. Haku does the narration first-person perspective.
1. Chapter 1 - It ends

"God no! I'm so sick of you two!" Miku yelled as her face started turning red; she had obviously had it

"Hey! Don't speak in plural just because we're twins! I'm not the one who can't tell a G hi from a C" said Len as he gave his sister an accusatory look

"Are you trying to imply something?" Rin replied, obviously upset

"If the shoe fits…" the blond boy glared at his sister, showing that he was not backing off his statement one bit…

And that, more or less, is how everything started (or ended… would be more fitting), how we… well, I don't know if I can even use the term "we", since I didn't add much to the band anyway; sure everyone was nice to me when I made a few corrections on the lyrics but… I couldn't sing or play an instrument, so it's not like I was a part of them, not entirely at least.

After the split, it goes without saying that Miku skyrocketed as a soloist. She was already an idol to begin with, and the attention from the media only helped her ascension; she offered me to work with her and I accepted, but I simply couldn't stand it for long. I mean, it wasn't her fault at all, she treated me well and the pay was ok but… I simply couldn't stand her; her voice, her charm, her glow, how easy it was for her to keep piling hits and fans; staying would have been worse than quitting, that's what I keep saying to myself at the very least.

As for the Kagamine brothers, they truly are a reflection from the mirror; one's fate was as good as the other's was bad. Len actually did pretty well as a soloist himself, since his innocent bad boy looks and attitude really got the girls into him, and since he's a boy he didn't have to directly compete with Miku, unlike Rin…

Oh the poor Rin; I'm not saying she's doing as bad as I am (I don't think anyone is), but she didn't do nearly as well as she was expecting. With Miku always hogging the spotlight, Rin was never really able to shine as much as she wanted to. I heard she gets some random events every now and then, mostly the ones Miku is too busy or considers too minor to attend; I guess I can relate to Rin, being in the shadow ever since her and Len got into that fight…

As for Kaito, he completely gave up on singing, but he never abandoned stardom. He now makes a living as an actor and it seems like a welcomed change by his fans. He and Miku went on a couple dates, but she told me they both agreed to do it just for the spotlights; it worked pretty fine indeed, for their latest debuts had like half the media from Japan covering them

And what about Luka? She was the one who walked out with the biggest slice of cake if you were to ask me. Being the group manager and the one who dealt with most of the legal paperwork, she got a hold of the rights over the most popular songs, which will keep her from having to do any actual work for at least the next 10 years; she DID let me keep my one hit, so nice from her… She's far from inactive tho; about one month ago she founded the "Vocalostars" music academy in Tokyo and I heard she's not a bad teacher at all. While the academy is not exactly overflowing with requests for entry, she has a pretty solid attendance; she's probably the one who will be on her best after 20 years…

And me? Well, if you're bored enough to care about me, it won't be hard to guess that after the breakup my drinking habit only got worse. Miku tried to dissuade me from it, not knowing that she was one of the root causes for it, and after I gave up on my job with her, it got even rougher. I drink about the same amount, but now I have to put up with this cheap sake that tastes like raw alcohol; it's not good for my health, I know that, but at least it makes the voices in my head to be quiet for a while…

How do I stay alive? That's a mystery even for me. I get part time jobs every now and then, but I keep getting fired; mostly because of drinking at work, which only makes me more depressed and want to drink more. The song Luka let me keep yields some drinking money every now and then, but it keeps reminding me of a happier… or at least less depressing past. It also makes me wonder why people like to hear the depressed ranting of a white-haired girl… maybe they're just mental

Somehow, this erratic path I walk wounded up past the billboards now, and seemingly Miku will be showing up live the 26th of this month; I had planned to drink myself to sleep that day anyway. Kaito had been inactive for a while, but the trailer for his new film "Romeo & Cinderella" was aired just today in virtually every channel on TV. You know it's on every channel if even the bar I go to shows it

Lost in my thoughts, I almost missed the monotone ring of my cellphone. I have to change the fabric settings some day… when I'm in the mood and have something to… oh right, I have to answer; "hello, it's…" was all I could muster before being abruptly interrupted by a familiar voice


	2. Chapter 2 - Enter Rin!

Well thanks a lot everyone for the unexpectedly warm reception for the story! Of course there will be more, just getting started here. Haku is actually my favorite Vocaloid character and that's the reason she's the main character on this story (she wasn't getting enough spotlight). Comments in spanish are as welcome and appreciated as those in english (Spanish is actually my mother language so no issues whatsoever) yet I'll keep the whole thing at English for coherence's sake. Time for round 2!

"Hey Haku, long time no see right! Hope you're doing well, I know I am… haha…" That's Rin's voice but… her laugh is quite different than what I remember, it sounds forced and somewhat… nervous

"Anyway!" she cut my train of thought; "could you maybe find some time to drop by and help me nail a couple lyrics to fit in the tempo? I know you're good at that, and you will be paid of course! Not that I'm implying you need the money or anything! Anyway just please drop by ok? Bye!"

"Yeah… bye…" I said to my cellphone, for I had little time to talk back; anyway, it looks like some pocket change will arrive soon enough; guess I won't have to drink this trash for a little while…

I looked at the half-empty bottle with despise and then tossed it towards the nearest wall; I would lie if I said even that was made wholeheartedly, for it didn't even get smashed; I only managed to get a crack on it, and then it just started spilling on the floor. They say a spilled drop of sake is like a spilled drop of blood, but considering the kind of blood that was, I don't think anyone will be missing it…

"Hey there Haku! Same as usual?" a strong, yet oddly kind voice called to me: the source being a man who looked twice as old as he actually was. His hair was an odd combination of black, grey and a few white traces, his face had been thru the harsh treatment of several fights and looked like it had been carved out of a stone block in a single piece, yet showing an unexpected kindness, at least towards me; his body was not as bulky and sculpted as it once was, for he used to be a boxer (a good one from what I know), but you could tell that he still kept a decent hold of his old strength and agility

"No thanks, I'll drink something good for a change" I replied to the bartender while looking for my usual seat, feeling somewhat reassured as I saw that nothing had changed. The place wasn't bigger than a house, yet the lack of inner walls made it look a little more spacious; a few dim and yellowish lights scarcely illuminated the space, just enough so the customers wouldn't bump into each other while moving. A few of the old, battered tables were occupied by the same old faces that seemed to have blended into the place itself, as thought they were a part of it, for it sure was hard to picture it without them sitting there with their gloomy aura

"So you finally got a hold of a decent job huh? It would hurt me to lose a good client like you, but I'm telling you girl" he placed a brand-new bottle before me; "that's the path to follow. You're a good girl, you don't belong here with these low-life drunks"

"Hey, who the hell are you calling a low-life drunk?" I heard a hoarse and distorted voice from behind; a skinny and poorly shaven hobo with unusually long and black hair, his mouth showing a few yellowish teeth still in place as he yelled

"That depends, maybe the same guy who is about to get his face slammed against the wall if he doesn't shut the fuck up" the bartender replied not showing the slightest hesitation as he got up his seat

"Hey, just asking…" the hobo turned back; at the very least, he seemed to be sane enough not to anger someone he shouldn't

"So tell me Haku" it was amazing how quickly he shifted back to his gentle tone towards me; "what do we owe the honor of a good drink?"

"I just felt like it" I replied while popping the bottle open, for then drinking straight up from it. I gave up on glasses a long time ago

"You can't lie to me girl, what's your new job? Cashier? Waitress? I've always thought you would make an adorable hostess"

"Meh, no job, only going to run a few errands for an old acquaintance of mine, and she'll pay some money, so I can afford not to rot my liver for a while" I took another sip, savoring the liquid instead of rushing it down my throat; I can't emphasize enough how I missed my sake leaving a soft aftertaste of rice instead of a burning sensation on my mouth

"Hey, we all start somewhere, don't we? You're still in time to give up on this nasty habit and actually make a living" he poured himself a drink and gulped it down in one shot; he didn't as much as flinch

"Not needed" half my bottle was gone, and oddly enough I was feeling sort of ok instead of seeing a blurry room; "I'm fine the way I am"

"If you say so…" he said in a voice that sounded almost parental

"It must be true, right? I don't need to keep holding on to this money so clean up my bill and add whatever remains as credit for when I need it" as I said this I placed a couple bills over the counter. They looked sort of rigged from spending so much time into my wallet

"So I take it you'll be coming back…" even thru the fumes of the alcohol, and even thru his forced smile, I could tell he was genuinely worried about that

"Most likely, yes"

As I left the bar, I think I maybe smiled for a while. I don't know why, and I can't even remember if it was a smile, it was sort of blurry, but I guess it was nice to hear people that actually expect something good from me… I guess…


	3. Chapter 3 - A crude awakening

Well thanks a lot for the reviews everyone! This story has certainly gotten a much warmer welcome I could've bargained for so don't worry, updates will keep coming regularly (or as much as I can manage). Addressing a few points I wasn't planning to include Dell in the story, mainly because I'm already juggling plenty of characters (Haku, Miku, Rin, Len, Luka, Kaito and the occasional extras) but who knows, maybe he'll end up showing up; to be honest the characters are the ones telling the story, I merely summarize their actions so I don't know what will happen.

Also, I would like some feedback on the current update style, i.e. short updates in a somewhat spaced basis, as opposed to spaced-out, long and possibly heavy ones. I like to keep the chapters bite-sized to keep it fresh and because some people doesn't like long walls of text and could possibly miss some plot or paragraphs in order to quickly make it thru the chapter. What do you guys think? As usual any feedback is appreciated.

"…and I'm fine, just the way I am" I can't recall when I started mumbling random parts from that old song, but it felt sort of okay, so I went along for it for a little while until I reached that place…

A tall (maybe eight storey) worn-out building that had once held a department store and had now been refurbished into cheap apartments. Built out of red brick which was a quite uncommon sight in Japan, the new owner had never bothered painting it, which was fine; problem was he had never bothered repairing the cracks or missing bricks either, which gave the building some kind of feeling of an abandoned warehouse.

"Home, sweet home" I mumbled to myself as I opened that door. I can't even recall if I was being sarcastic or not, but that small apartment was truly the only place I could call a home. The empty bottles were piling in a corner near the fridge that, as usual, was nearly empty except for some bentou I couldn't recall buying; it was turning into a moldy shade of green anyway, so it would probably be best to toss it away along with the bottles… will probably get to that when I'm done with Rin's lyrics

As I made my way past the dirty laundry and the occasional bottle on the floor I took a sideways glance at the small space I inhabited, yet I couldn't honestly complain, for I didn't really think I needed much more. When I finally made it to my room I lit a somewhat large flashlight near my bed that was much cheaper than using lightbulbs and took a look around: everything was where I left it, not that I owned anything worth stealing anyway

"Yeah, will take clothes off tomorrow, have to take a shower anyway…" were the last words I could recall before falling to the deep slumber of alcohol; I would need as much sleep as I could get…

"Huh…? What…?" I stirred and mumbled, still half-asleep, rudely awoken by a persistent and somewhat familiar sound. The hangover was nowhere near the hardest one I had ever felt, and I was used to them anyway, so it wasn't hard to ignore it and look for my cellphone, which I found under my bed, into the pants I was wearing last night (which I had no idea or memories from taking them off)

"Huh? Hello? Who…?" I mumbled, trying to get a straight sentence out, not that I would need to talk back anyway

"Haku? Oh thank god it's you! It's you right? I mean, you're Yowane Haku, the one I…" couldn't mistake that high pitch tone

"So loud…" I mumbled to myself as I placed the speaker a couple inches further from my ears; I could hear her just fine and I'm pretty sure even my neighbors could, walls were paper-thin after all; "Rin it's me, Haku" I finally managed to blurt out something coherent; "what do you…" all she needed to keep going was my confirmation

"Oh great! Listen, remember I called you last night? About some lyrics that needed some tuning right? Well, the thing is… I'm sort of kinda late and… you know… maybe… you…"

"Yaaaaaaaaawn" I mumbled uneasy as I shook the bottle near my bed trying to find any leftovers; "Rin, do you…"

"Could you please come over as soon as possible? Please, please, PLEASE!? I'll pay you I swear, just hurry up! It's kind of an emergency!" she yelled so loud I'm fairly sure my landlord heard her, and he lives 5 blocks away

"Ok Rin, calm down, it's not like I have anything better to do, I'll be with you in…"

"Thank you, thank you, thank you! I'll text you the address right away! Please don't take the subway, takes too long; get a cab, I'll pay for it!"

"Yeah but I…"

"Thanks again, please come fast!" and before I could get another word in, she hung up; it's not like I had anything important to say anyway, but at least I could have warned her that I planned on showering first, helps getting the hangover down. As I lazily stretched my limbs and got to the window to let the sun in, I realized that I had somehow managed to end up asleep with just my underwear, so I didn't have to take much off to get into the shower.


	4. Chapter 4 - Back to reality

I'll keep it short since fanfiction keeps eating my separators and I hate how comments look like part of the main body. I think I'll stick to 3 updates per week; this one was going to be a longer update but I rather keep it short in 2 parts; thanks everyone for the support and let's get it on!

Lazily I slid off my panties and tossed them into the laundry basket; missed by a few inches but of course, I could always pick them up later. Soon enough my bra took the same route except that it oddly landed where it should instead of hanging half-suspended on the edge. After waiting for a little while, I stepped into the shower and realized that, as usual, there was no hot water; there rarely is any on this building, but I don't care, a cold shower helps shaking the hangover off, and they say it's good for the skin too

For a moment I considered not doing it, but I immediately took the shower cap and placed it over my head, hastily stuffing my hair inside it. This much hair takes forever to wash, and I don't feel like it right now. Plus, I promised Rin to be there soon, or at least she made me promise, sort of, I guess

As I finally got the last bit of hair into the cap I faced the water stream face-first, closing my eyes and letting the shivery liquid run along; it was like being abruptly pulled back into reality. I could feel the chilling yet oddly pleasant sensation running down from my neck, contracting my muscles and shivering my skin, the water getting warmer as it went down; "don't think today will be any worse than yesterday" I said to myself, which was my particular way of saying that it should be a (somewhat) good day.

Both soap and washing cloth were almost brand new, which was rare considering my drinking habit did not leave room for much else, so I made the most out of enjoying the nice, ticklish sensation running along my skin, washing away the smell of alcohol and sweat, almost caressing me…

Without my hair in the way, it was much easier to let the stream of icy water slide along my back, shaking off any leftover sleep I had, reminding me of the task at hand… oh right, Rin.

Hastily I turned off the water and reached for the towel, drying off any excess water in a rush as I tossed the shower cap into the sink. Fortunately I still had some clean laundry handy, and could get dressed up in a moment's notice. It amazed me that last night I had enough coherence left to buy seconds, for a fresh, unopened bottle of decent sake was sitting next to my bed, waiting to be consumed…

"Ok just a sip to shake off the haze" I said to myself as I merely sipped enough to ease the sensation of numbness. It worked, it always does.

Back in the streets, it wasn't hard to find a taxi to take me wherever Rin wanted me to go. I showed the cabbie the text message I had got at my cellphone (3 times) and he took off right away. He was the kind of taxi driver I like: fast and silent, and did not mention the bottle I was carrying nor the fact I smelled of alcohol so early in the morning.

As we made way, the place started seeming oddly familiar, and the route was as well… yes, I had most definitely been there before, and I think… oh right. Now that I think about it… I gave most of my cash to Ellion because I'm getting paid some more and I didn't…

"Hey! Here! Here!" an unmistakable blonde girl with a large white ribbon over her head made me forget about that problem. She kept jumping and waving her arms into the air as thought she didn't already have my attention; "hey Haku, thanks a lot for coming in such a short notice! Come! Come! We have a lot of work to do!" she hastily pulled my arm as soon as I opened the door, and it goes without saying she wasn't exactly helping my hangover…

"Hey miss, you haven't paid for…" I heard behind my back; of course, I hadn't paid the driver…

"Here! Keep the change if you must, now shoo! Shoo I say!" Rin hastily handed over a bill to the driver with her left hand while pulling me out of the cab with her right. After looking at the bill the man politely thanked Rin and drove away; needless to say, I was quite puzzled by her haste

"Ok Rin, let's get to work then" -the sooner I finish, the sooner I can stop bugging people- I thought to myself

"Yeah! Yeah right, work!" she hastily replied, she sounded quite uneasy

Soon we made way into her "headquarters", which were no other than an old recording studio we (they) had purchased when the old band was actually starting to do good; seemingly she had claimed it for herself. It was not the best place in town, but it had a good recording studio with a decent sound-proof room and all basic (and most of the fancy) channels needed to produce a quite professional result, post-production mixing studio included.

The walls had already seen their best even before everyone swarmed in, trying to claim the fluffiest chair or the largest room, yet they seemed to have taken a somewhat heavier toll now and several small yet notorious cracks lined the blue paint that somehow held on instead of peeling apart. A couple staircases looked like they had been recently fixed but overall the place was pretty much the same as I remembered it. I would lie if I said I didn't feel like wandering around the gigantic consoles and battered walls for a while, just for the nostalgia, but it seemed like I wouldn't have time to, for Rin hastily pulled me towards the conference (or field battle) room.

"So… I think the best would be for you to show me what we're working with" even if there was plenty of room, I took my usual seat at the conference table, and Rin hastily took the one right next to me; "if you happen to have the music too, it would help lots, but if you only have the lyrics it's fine; anything is fine really…"

"Yeah well… the thing is…" she took her right hand to the back of her head while nodding nervously

"It doesn't have to be good, it doesn't even have to be finished; anything you sing will come out good, much better than anything I sing anyway"

"The thing is…" she looked down, blushing intensely; "I… may not have much"

"I told you, anything will be fine, even if it's just the chorus…"

"But…"

"You don't have anything? Anything at all?" I asked puzzled

"No! I don't!" she screamed, more like sobbing; "I didn't know I was getting that show, I wasn't even hoping I would!"

"But Rin, I'm sure you…"

"It was supposed to be Miku's ok!?" she continued as tears started flowing thru her eyes; "of course it was hers, it always is. But the princess called it out at the last second; told them she had a pressing meeting to attend or some crap like that and that she wouldn't be able to make it, and they didn't even fine her! No one ever does, and even if they did what would she care about? She's got wealth and fame enough for three lives!"

"Care to…" but even if I hadn't asked Rin, I'm sure what she wanted (needed) the most, was someone else to share her story with.


	5. Chapter 5 - Enough is enough

It's 10 before midnight here so it counts as a Thursday update! (I guess). Running out of buffer here so I'll have to stop procrastinating and actually get to do some writing. Second part of the to-be longer update.

"It all started two days ago…" she started, her voice barely recomposing; "I knew there was going to be a big show for the opening of that new amusement park, I mean, the thing is huge! I know they put quite a bit of cash on that, and of course they wanted to start out big, so they call the biggest, most appealing star: Miku of course…" at this point she seemed to have finally reached her threshold on trashing about and quietly sat on the single person couch away from the table, her legs over one armchair and her back on the other

"But then I get this call from the manager, asking me if I was aware of the opening; of course I was…" she tightly gripped on an orange she was peeling, forcing most of the juice out of it and quietly dripping it on the carpet; "and in the most blatant lie I have ever heard in my life, he says that they couldn't think of a better kickstart for it than having me perform live on the very first day of the opening"

"But Rin, I'm sure you are…" I tried to comfort her, but she wasn't really listening

"Of course they didn't think of me first!" she slammed the orange hard against the wall, and then it fell dripping into the dustbin; "pretty princess Miku couldn't make it, so instead they go for whatever they can find, and that whatever happens to be me!"

"Well… I…" I tried to say something, but realized that no matter what I said at that point, she wouldn't have listened. I took off the cork from the bottle I fortunately brought with me and took a sip, then I sat backwards on the chair, facing the back and hanging my arms above it, and just continued to keep an eye on Rin; she sure needed it

"And he kept going, continuously apologizing about the short notice; faking excuses about them being too busy with the last engineering details; telling me that he was aware I wasn't getting much time ahead, but that a star as myself would surely pull something amazing out. A star like myself!?" I quietly heard Rin's ranting, and just gulped down another helping of sake

"And now" she continued as she tightly pressed her head ribbon into her hands; "I'm left with less than a week to pull a show that has to be at least as amazing as blue pigtails' and with no one to help me with it. I need at least a full day to make the rehearsals with the band, and god knows where they are; she has half Japan on her back, while all I have to pull something amazing out…"

"Is me…" I mumbled with my head lying over the table, glaring at Rin thru the blurry glass of the half-empty bottle

"Haku, I didn't mean it like that! But I don't think… I don't know… I just can't…" when she started sobbing, I decided that enough ranting was enough

"Ok Rin let's cut the crap" I took a last sip of liquid courage for then hastily getting up my seat, pulling my tie back around my neck; "I didn't come from the ass-end of nowhere, bearing with the mother of all hangovers just to hear a blonde rant about how unpopular she is compared to a damn diva who just has to wave her hand to make the crowd cheer for her"

"But Haku!" she replied, tears still into her eyes

"But Haku my drunk ass" I tightly gripped her from the shoulders, knocking her back into the couch; "you have an innate charm and a wonderful voice you don't use because you're just too damn busy bitching about Miku being so cool and poor Rin being so unpopular"

"But if you just…" Rin tried to fight back, but I could see into her eyes that she was genuinely scared; I guess I overdid it a bit, but at the time, it looked like a good idea, it still does actually…

"If I just what? Wanna try and switch places huh? How does it sound? Want to try and make it as a white-haired girl who couldn't sing if her life depended on it? Always in the shadow of the diva without even a voice fit enough to fight back? How does that sound?"

"Haku, I'm sorry, I didn't…" at this point she was horrified, and couldn't keep sobbing even if she wanted to

"Now listen, you have the voice, you have the charms, and you're going to put them up to good use or die trying, and if you don't, I'll finish the job myself" I don't know what look did I give Rin, but it looked like she had seen hell itself; maybe she did…

"I… I can try… I guess…"

"Allright, that's a better attitude. Now try and wrap your head around this" as I said this I gently hit her on the head with a couple rolled sheets of paper; "if you could think of the rhythm right now it would be great, so the band only has to tune-up the small details"

"This… is…" her eyes opened wide as thought she had found the holy grail; "Haku this is brilliant! How did you think of this with me ranting?"

"I didn't, you did, and it actually was BECAUSE you were ranting, read carefully" and as she did, she started recognizing herself: "never as popular"; "always in your shadow"; "wanna make it on my own". Every word, every sentence, every paragraph came from her own feelings, and all I had to do was to patiently write ideas between drinks.

"You had all the right ideas" I patted her shoulder as she kept on reading; "I merely pulled them together. I know it's nowhere nearly a merry song, but it…"

"It's perfect" she said with a faint voice and a cheerful yet calm look into her eyes; "this might be just what I need to get the crowd going or die trying! Thanks a lot Haku!" she jumped towards me and gave me a quite energetic embrace; it goes without saying that we ended up on the floor, lucky it still had the fluffy carpet I remembered

"Glad to be of help, now if you no longer need me, I would like to…"

"No longer need you? What are you saying!? Of course I need you here! We still have a lot of fine-tuning to do with this and I don't even have the music for the lyrics to go along with! I don't care if I have to drag the guy who plays the guitar at the subway here, but we ARE making this work! Now you get on the channel controls, I have seen you operate them before so don't say you can't"

"Well, that's more like the Rin I used to know" I replied with a genuine smile; if showing her my demons would help her with her own, then so be it. Maybe she would someday return the favor? Maybe…


	6. Chapter 6 - To a job well done

Well it's Monday; you guys can thank the skipped update to FanFiction being down for most of the weekened (I wanted to update early Saturday). Short update this time, but I'll (hopefully) update again quite soon

"Now that's a face you don't see here often" I heard a voice with the slightest hint of sarcasm; I couldn't but keep up with the pace.

"Are you actually making a joke?" I replied as I took my usual seat right next to the bar and of course, next to Ellion, the bartender.

"All I'm saying is, you look in a better mood than usual Haku; did the job turn out well?"

"Actually it was worse than I expected, but it took a turn for the right in the end" as I replied I couldn't but genuinely smile for the way things had worked out

"You're giving yourself too little credit girl" he said as he started rummaging around his stash of drinks; "you did something right and you know it"

"Meh, merely pushed her into the right direction, no big deal. How did you know I had some pocket change today as well?" for I noticed him pulling out a rather decent sake, the kind I hadn't tasted in quite a while.

"No need to, this one's on the house, for a job well done" as he said this he poured the contents of the bottle into a traditional clay container and got two platters handy

"Thanks, I don't usually use those tho"

"Well, this time you do, this one calls for a bit of ceremony girl; it's not best in town, but it's pretty damn good" he ignored my ranting and poured a bit of sake on each platter

"Well, you're the one buying, so I guess I can oblige just this once" he had a way to get people to do as he said, be it thru intimidation or (most often used in me) mere persuasion; "so, to good sake?" I asked as I lifted my platter

"And to good decisions" he replied, gently poking his drink against mine; "so is this new job stable? I don't want you getting fired anymore you know"

"Probably, probably not; not much I can do about it"

"One heck of a lot you can do about it; I may be the last person you want to hear this from, but not drinking at work would be a great starter"

"Yeah, I know…" I poured myself another helping of the unusual treat; it was rather mild, with a strong aroma and the aftertaste lingered around for quite a while even after drinking; the kind of stuff I wouldn't mind getting used to. My mind started drifting away from the scenery but not falling to a void I could not fill later as usual; just vaguely wandering around, thinking of a hundred things at once. A voice by my side pulled me back to the present.

"Say Haku, maybe if…" was all I could make up from it.

"Huh? What is it Ellion?" I replied as I took another gentle sip from the platter

"Nah, never mind; right now it's time to drink and be merry, or the closest to merry we can get"

"Close enough to me"

Night and drinks went by, and I couldn't remember the last time I went back home merely feeling a lethargic kind of ease, instead of the world spinning around me. As I opened the door the usual dark corners and piled bottles greeted me, yet their greeting felt better this time, like they were part of a somewhat stable calm.

"Well, that was not bad at all" I mumbled as I left myself fall into the bed; "I guess I can keep up with this for a little while longer, if sake is still this good" I closed my eyes and left my mind to drift away once again…


	7. Chapter 7 - Luka's whereabouts

"One, two, one two! keep up with the tempo boys and girls! If you make me turn the metronome on, it stays on for the rest of the class" a pink (and quite long) haired woman ordered, clapping the tempo with her hands, not missing half a second

"Aww miss, give us a break, won't you?" a black haired boy who seemed to be around 12 complained

"Actually that's a good idea Yun. Everyone take five and clear your throats! Drink some water but not too cold! As for you Yun, come with me will you?" she gave him THAT look, the look all students feared…

"But miss! I swear I won't complain again!" the boy replied nervous

"You seem to be having some issues with keeping the tempo so…"

"So…" the boy replied uneasy, eyes fixed on the floor, expecting the worse

"So I'm teaching you a secret to make it easier ok?" the pink-haired woman replied in a surprisingly sweet voice that contrasted with her usual strict tone

"Y… yes miss Megurine!" the boy said as he slightly blushed, for he sure wasn't expecting that reaction

Of course, not all of Luka's pupils were that young; some groups were in their teens and even 20 and 30 something students found their way into the academy, yet she couldn't deny younger groups were her favorite, for they were the ones most willing to take her advice

It goes without saying that as the head director of the academy, she didn't teach all groups personally; heck, she didn't even need to teach any of them at all (she had enough skilled instructors for that), yet she liked to check progress and add some of her own wisdom on every group every now and then; she said it kept the academy "hers", and I couldn't but agree.

"Goodbye miss Megurine!" the group yelled energetic as the class finished, looking in particularly good spirits as they dashed past me towards the exit, their parents waiting for them outside.

"And thanks a lot for that secret miss! It's much easier to keep the tempo now!" Yun happily thanked her as he left last.

"Nice group you got here Luka, how's it going?" from the look on her face, I could tell she was perplexed; heck, I would've been amazed to see myself somewhere other than a bar as well.

"Haku!? Oh my, is that you? I haven't seen you in like, forever!" she dashed towards me to confirm I wasn't a mirage or alcohol-induced hallucination.

"Yeah, been flying below the radar, always have" I replied as I took a good look at her, boy was she looking fine…

Her hair was looking every bit as silky and vivid as always, albeit a bit longer. She had never been too bold unless the need arose, and thus she seemed pretty comfortable in the silvery-black straight cut outfit you would expect on a head mistress of just any academy, couldn't deny she looked good on it too.

"But don't just stand there doing nothing, come here!" she insisted as she gently dragged me by the arm like I was another one of her students; I wish I was. "Tell me how have you been? Are you doing fine? Maybe I could…"

"Don't worry about me, I'm fine" I wasn't that sure about that but still that's what I said; "just came by to run a few errands"

"Oh, well, whatever business you have with me, feel free to discuss it while I show you around. Can't have a friend come over and leave without a proper tour, can I?"

"Oh, ok, sure" while it wasn't my usual, I would lie if I said the complex did not awaken my curiosity, even if just a little.

"Just one thing, please leave this behind" as she said this she pointed at the bottle I was holding in my hand; "don't want to set a bad example to the young ones right?"

"I guess… makes sense"

Sighing, I left the bottle on top of her desk, and she closed the door of her office so no one would see it (bad reputation for her indeed). Being short a bottle felt like being maimed an arm, but I just let out another muzzled sigh and dealt with it, first things came first.

"Now these are our usual classrooms" before I realized it she had already started with the tour; "the ones we use when we don't have any large rehearsals. The acoustics are great so I haven't touched the structure one bit; don't want to risk losing it" she said as she pointed towards a somewhat long hallway lined with numbered doors, from one to ten. The opposite wall was lined with flower pots of all sizes, filled with plants equally divergent in volume, from a small hibiscus to a large bush that resembled somewhat of a palm-tree.

"Nice place you got here" I mumbled as I instinctively tried to take a sip from my now empty hand; still felt odd.

"Thanks, it's been a bit of work but it has been worth it" she acted like she didn't notice my gesture; "and that way is the main hall. We're planning to have a small concert by the end of this month, nothing too big, but a chance for the students to actually feel what it's like to perform live"

"Sounds good" nothing too big was quite the understatement, for the place had enough seats for a good five thousand spectators, and it wasn't hard to tell she sure as hell could fill it.

"Now come with me, I'll show you my favorite part of the academy" it sounded more like an order than an invitation, yet couldn't be otherwise from the one running that place, so I just went along with her.


	8. Chapter 8 - A push from lady luck

Well it's still Sunday for one and a half more hours, still barely making it to the deadline! Today as well I had the option wheter making two very short updates or a lengthier one; since I already did the split before, and this is a late update, this time I'll go with the later and send a few more words than usual. See you all when my muse strikes!

We started climbing a few staircases towards a recently painted steel door, a heavy lock keeping it shut; "that the main cash vault or something?" I asked.

"Not really, but I would rather not have my students wander around here; you know how appealing closed doors are to children" she pulled a key from around her neck and as she turned it, the lock gave away with a soft click.

The second sunlight stroke, I understood why it was her favorite part of the place. A rather large veranda with plenty of room for wandering around and a peerless view of the entire east side of the city. Most of the sun was shaded by the structure itself at the current time and thus only a dim and rather nice glare of light illuminated the place.

Huge skyscrapers and random blocks of buildings that somehow fit together perfectly reached as far as the eye could see. On the distance, some neon colored signs were visible as sun lazily hid, giving way to the moon and to the nightlife of the city. Rivers of steel and light in the form of rapidly accelerating cars were the only appreciable movement other than the clouds. It was the kind of place one could stay at for hours and not be bored.

"So tell me Haku, what brings you here?" she took a seat with her back against the wall; "If it's just a friendly visit we can linger around for a bit, or also I got some coffee and sweets in my office and…"

"Sounds lovely, but I'm in somewhat official business here" still somewhat hesitant, I took a seat next to her, keeping my distance and placing my palms on the ground; "Rin sent me in official business to be accurate"

"Oh Rin! Haven't heard much about her either. Is she doing well?" even if she was perfectly composed as usual, I could tell there was genuine worry in her question.

"Yeah, maybe too well, that's what brings me here actually" how could someone be doing too well? My words (as usual) came to make a good situation into a rather unpleasant one, and after explaining the huge event to Luka, she came to understand the "too" on my statement. It was time to discuss the matter at hand.

"So basically she has a huge spotlight and nothing to fill it with" Luka said as we walked back into her office.

"Well, she has some odd ends but that's what brings me here." I got a grip on my bottle and felt at ease again; "She wants to know if she can "borrow" a few songs off ya and pay back when the big check comes by. She would've come herself, but she's trying to rally her band and another two thousand things at the same time"

"Sounds like a plan indeed. So what exactly is she after?" she held her chin with a rather inquisitive look into her eyes.

"Here, she gave me a list" I handed over the somewhat crumbled sheet of paper I managed to write as Rin named fragments of lyrics and choppy titles as fast as she possibly could.

"Hmmmm, that girl hasn't lost her taste for music, has she?" for a second she had an almost maternal aura about her; the path she had chosen fit her like a glove. "And you say the show is…"

"Five days from today, this Friday"

"Allright, here's the deal. You tell Rin I will take a five percent of whatever she is getting on two conditions: one, it's a one-shot agreement just for this show. She can give encores but the deal expires after the weekend"

"Noted, and two…" I asked, still not believing how things were actually looking up for Rin.

"Two, you get at least five percent of the pay as well. I don't know much on how you're doing, but you're actually working hard, and it would kill me not to see you get some payment"

"Huh? Are you serious about…" I most certainly couldn't believe her (or someone else) actually worrying that much about me.

"Those are my two conditions, take it or leave it" she sure sounded like she meant business, and the whole head mistress thing was helping her point.

"Ok, got it, I'll let Rin know as soon as I can. And Luka… thanks a lot" I finally sighed.

"Don't thank me, just make sure to do well ok?" as she said this the usual broad, warm smile I remembered came across her face; somewhat more mature but still same old Luka for that matter.

"Yeah, Rin will pull thru somehow, hopefully"

"Always the one to back away right Haku?" as she said this she intertwined her fingers, the gentle smile still not fading. I stayed for maybe a bit longer that I had do, but it was hard refusing the offer to stay when she was already pouring coffee on the cups.

"You seem to be doing great here" I said as I took a sip from the steaming hot cup; the contents were nothing like the brown water I usually drink when I need to wake up; instead, it was a rather nice blend with a strong aroma reminiscent of freshly toasted beans and a very lasting aftertaste, even after such a small sip. The kind of coffee you want to drink black and not saturate with sugar or cream; since I usually drink my coffee black either way, the exquisite change was a welcome one.

"Robusta variety, not too popular but I like it better" she said as thought she was reading my mind; "bitterer and much stronger than Arabica, yet great for waking up at mornings"

"Good coffee indeed" I replied, helping myself to a small biscuit; tasted rather fresh, as thought just cooled from the oven.

"So Rin called you with this situation, just out of the blue?" she asked as the nibbled on a butter cookie

"You could say that yes; I have no idea why of all people she called me, but that's basically what happened. Yet enough about me, how are you doing here? Must be hard to run such a large school"

"Well I won't deny it has its issues, but the joy of forging new, emerging careers is unbelievable" I could tell she was making her best not to say anything that might upset me, not that she could say anything I didn't already know.

"Those kids look rather promising indeed" I replied, pouring myself a second helping of the rather tasty batch of coffee from the aluminum Italian-style brewer.

"They do indeed, although most of them take art merely as a hobby or a dead-time filler; can't get too far without some serious commitment" – and most of the time, one can't get anywhere without some serious talent – I thought to myself.

"So how did you stumble upon this place? It must've been hard to get such a large space in the middle of the city"

"Indeed it was, but old acquaintances make for great deals indeed. The previous owner was more than happy to get any kind of profit so long as someone took the burden of state taxes off his hands; once that was dealt with, the refurbishing was the easiest part" she sounded rather pleased with the results.

"Any plans of branching out?"

"Oh of course not! No way in the world I could split in two without dying in the process, and I would hate the students to think that I favor one academy while neglecting the other. I rather keep a single, strong one than two split ones" just as I thought, she merely wanted a way to keep herself busy; after all, she was the kind of person that stops working on Monday and wounds up dead on Tuesday.

"Well, this was rather nice, but I would hate to take away anymore of your time, I'm sure you have business to attend to" if I were to say a good thing about me, it would be that at least I don't push my luck, and quit while I'm ahead.

"Are you sure?" she asked; I could tell that indeed she would have put up with me for a little longer.

"Positive, busy days ahead and I'm not much of a morning person, so…" as I said this I started getting up, reaching for my bottle as I did.

"Very well, take care then" as she got up, I noticed her suit being as clean as it was before we took a seat, unlike my clothes that now hosted random crumbs of cookies I hastily shook away; "just promise you'll visit more often ok?"

"Will try my best" I replied not exactly convinced whether I would or not.


	9. Chapter 9 - Migikata no chou

Whew, not much to say; one hell of a week, FF being down when I want to update and up when I can't use my laptop, plenty of stuff going around but I will do my best to make it to the 3-per-week deadline (hopefully).

"Well, that sure was an unexpected surprise; time to get back to work I guess" Luka said as she walked back towards her office, for of course she had seen her guest all the way to the door.

As she calmly turned her monitor back on, she started reviewing the cold numbers and figures placed all along the spreadsheet. She had sure made her work sound easy and effortless, but truth was there was way more to it than Luka publicly admitted. The property was shoulder deep into state debt, and had it not been for the negotiations that followed the purchase, it would have been lost, saved only because of the rise in property value an academy of any kind brings to the adjacent buildings of an area.

Sipping the last remaining cup of coffee, she shifted her attention towards the royalties coming from the songs to her name; those were the only real income the academy had for the first months. Miku as usual could have cared less wheter she had to pay royalties or not; her staff would take care of that either way, so Luka just checked every now on then for the numbers to match; they always did of course.

Rin was surviving mostly on material of her own and the titles she had manage to salvage, so it was no surprise Luka had little to no news from her. "Send Rin the paperwork" she wrote in a virtual post-it; after all, Luka was certainly not the one to leave any loose ends anywhere.

Kaito had been silent as well, but for the upcoming movie plenty of negotiations had taken place, and despite playing hard ball, Luka had certainly been looking forward to sell a couple rights in exchange for large figures rather than waiting for the long-term income to drop by; after all, property taxes were rising and due soon. It all played right in the end, yet with no little effort.

"Oh, won't you look at that, no surprise she's doing so well" she said to herself as she stumbled upon a recorded broadcast from Miku's last live performance. The crowd was so tightly packed you could literally lift your feet into the air and not fall down; LED light of every color illuminated both the stage and carefully placed clouds of smoke that shielded Miku from sight just long enough so she could pull a stunt that surprised the crowd, everything looked as good as it could be.

"Oh my, Len is late for the royalties' payment… again" she sighed before drinking the last remains of her cup in an unsurprised manner, for it was certainly not the first time she had to "gently" remind the blond boy from their obligations; or rather, "her people" had to meet with "his people" in the usual jargon of the business.

As for me, the rendezvous had been a rather welcome surprise and was feeling quite pleased with the results. The bottle in my hand was empty now (to be fair, it was midway done before I left home anyway) but fortunately I knew where I could get more.

"There's a butterfly on your right shoulder!" echoed loud across the crowded space, and the melody melded into the loud, excited cheering from the mostly female crowd that jumped and screamed in place, barely able to keep themselves from jumping into stage.

Performing a modified variation of the song that was formerly a duo, a yellow haired boy wandered around the stage as fans eagerly followed him with her eyes. Wearing a custom made black denim set with an intricate pattern resembling a butterfly (indeed in his right shoulder) he urged the crowd to become even more excited, to cheer more, to which everyone gladly obliged.

"Discotheque love!" the chorus echoed loud and blurried as fans started singing along; every girl closing their eyes, imaging the song was intended for her and no one else.

The performance, like all others before, spared no expenses into creating "the" atmosphere. From illumination to decoration; from the glittering laser-formed figures lit randomly over the walls, to the surrounding sound that seemed to come from everywhere at once, with the attention still focused on the main stage; indeed a show meant to be memorable.

And still, despite all of the decoration, the distractions, the mesmerizing lights and the almost narcotic smoke curtains, all eyes were focused on the male performer that winked an eye towards a single girl and to none in particular at the same time; harvesting a rather loud cheer from them. It's not hard to guess how or why he had kept his attendance so steady and his agenda so busy.

The performance ended with a loud and bright blast of fireworks coming from every side of the stage, causing a loud and impressed yell from the ecstatic crowd that did not want the show to come to an end. WWII was a skirmish if compared to the fighting that arose over the hat the boy hurled towards the ecstatic crowd that did not rip each other to shreds only by divine intervention (or maybe security's).

"Thank you Akihabara!" the boy yelled with a broad smile on his face as the crowd cheered and clapped like their life depended on it. Behind the stage, however, a different battle was about to be fought.


	10. Chapter 10 - Just passing by

Well, given the current state of my internet, there's no way I can be picky about when to update, so I'll try and upload this as quickly as possible before it goes down again. Somewhat lengthier update, hope it makes up for the lack of the 3rd one.

"Where's my drink!?" the blond boy yelled as he walked behind stage. "I've been singing my ass for way longer we had a deal to, can't I get a damn drink for that!?" he demanded.

"Right away sir" a feminine voice came from his back, handing him over an oddly colored can.

"About time" he snatched the can, took a sip and dumped it into the nearest dustbin; "pleh! Wrong brand again? Why am I the only one doing something right here!?" the girl following the small crowd with the blond at the center shuddered. She would've gotten quite a reprimand, weren't it for someone else.

"If I may have your attention, I think there are more pressing matters at hand Mr. Kagamine" a woman in a straight cut suit interrupted.

"I told you a thousand times, it's Len" over the time, he had grown rather reluctant of being called by his surname; "and what is it? It better be important"

"Matter of fact it is… Len. We're on red numbers and the finances are not looking anywhere near healthy. We have way too many money leaks and…"

"Well, I'm making us more money ain't I?" he cut her words as he opened the door to his private camerin.

"Certainly you are but…" the woman sighed, knowing that the boy had a short fuse; "but I'm worried that we may be spending more money than we're getting"

"Well, then fire some people or put some more crap with my name on it on the market, or maybe both; you can start the firing with the dumb girl who never gets my drink right"

"But sir! I don't think that will…"

"I'm done with this! It was one hell of a show, and now I need to rest. Good night!" and without allowing another word, he shut the door and locked it from the inside; "jeeze, why do I have to do everything around here?" he said in a rather snobbish voice.

"Allright; I guess… I'll look into it… again" the woman sighed as she had no choice but to walk away from the door. A frowned brow glanced at the cold, absolute numbers that had not changed since, nor showed any intention or chance of doing so.

The accounting clearly showed that, even if money was indeed coming in, and in no small amounts, an equal or larger sum was being spent almost without failure. Dazzled by the sudden independency and increase in his income, Len had taken a liking into showing that he could do as he wished by himself, and thus indulged in several expensive habits the former group manager (Luka) had once kept on check.

Imported gourmet food, fancy clothing that was disposed off the second a show ended, long parties that spanned for days at a time, all of those had become the habit instead of the exception for the young rising star, and his accountant could do little but helplessly watch money vanish as soon as it had arrived. Never satisfied with the same payroll for more than two weeks, the boy fired and hired new personnel constantly, and the settlements, while not as major of a worry as the vices, were also undermining the finances.

Fighting a losing battle when it came to the idol lowering his expenses, the woman had no choice but to resort to the old, common tactic of digging a hole to patch up another; how long would it last was her major concern, for even if money was coming in regularly, it had started vanishing even faster, and would keep at it unless something was done; yet that was a story for the male twin to concern himself with later, his private room held a much more (de)pressing surprise…

"Hey there Len, long time no see" as I said this he immediately turned around, surprise into his eyes.

"Who… Haku? Hey, what are you doing here!? And more importantly, how did you get into my room?"

"I'm drunk, I don't know how I do things, they just end up that way" as I said this I took a sip from my faithful bottle.

"As funny as always… Well I guess I'll do the firing on my security staff (which had already been fired) in the morning, so either way, what brings you here? You want an autograph or something? No discounts tho"

"Don't worry, nothing of the sort, just thought you might be interested into this" as I said this I handed him over a half-letter sized flyer, printed in full color; "they just got printed this morning"

"Sorry, I think I outgrew amusement parks" he replied somewhat cold.

"I thought you might be interested in the opening event" I remarked the obvious, just in case he had failed to notice Rin covering half the flyer.

"You know what they say about them peace doves Haku…"

"Hey, just thought you would like to know; whether or not you want to attend is none of my damn business, I'm just here to say hi and pass information, that's all" I was done there anyway, so I started getting up my seat.

"Think I'll be busy that day as well…"

"Oh well, I'm sure you are. Just here to pass the info either way; Rin might not say it, but she sure misses her twin."

"…How's she doing?" he finally asked, almost in a whisper.

"Well, better than I am, but that's not hard to achieve. If you could make it to the opening, it would be awesome. Take care now. Oh by the way, an amazing performance indeed" and without saying or hearing another word, I left the same way I came in (not that I can remember either).

Len, on the other hand, remained on his feet merely because that was the position he had been at before I left; sulking on the memories of the fight that arose between him and his sister, memories clashing one against the other; sighing, he finally took a seat…


	11. Chapter 11 - Mirror-mirror

-Whew! Allright, I guess I have some explaining to do, but the story is nowhere near amusing or interesting. Basically, it's been a great month for work, with plenty of new stuff going on, which by addition means a crappy month for basically everything that doesn't involve eating or sleeping. Hopefully I'll be able to resume updating as regular, and if things keep steady, will be able to balance it all. Keep'em coming!-

They had after all, been borne together, and thus it was only natural that they grew together, singed together and did most of the things together, but you know what they say about too much of a good thing, and such a long time being on the other's back ended up undermining the relationship.

As time went by, both of them grew tired of always being referred to as "the kagamines" and being interchangeably named, or even worse, the dull "not him, the female Len" and stuff like that; would be enough to get on anyone's nerves to be honest; and of course, being on the same band with roughly the same roles did not help things one bit. Rin being the most vocal one, did not hesitate one bit to speak her mind out at the slightest provocation; Len, on the other hand, quietly measured his time, yet exploded with acid rage the second he reached his threshold.

In the end, the fight was unavoidable; it was not the best way out of it, but what both of them needed was indeed some time away from each other. And still, the harsh, impersonal way of achieving the personal time had left both of them hurt and feeling like they had been torn from half of themselves; in a way they sure had been.

I should admit that I lied a little bit to Len when I said Rin might not say that she misses her brother, for she, as outspoken as she had been on the fights, was also unhesitant on telling me how she missed him now that the harsh, cold medicine of time had finally kicked in, the rage subsided and the good memories remained. With Len, however, it was a totally different matter, for he was quite reluctant to share his thoughts or feelings with anyone else, preferring to keep a strong front and indulge into worldly pleasures to keep his mind busy. Indeed my visit had poured salt into an old, unclosed wound, but being as used to do that as I am, I did not mind, if it helped either of them a little bit.

"Still, you know what they say about them peace doves Haku" said Ellion, gulping his drink down.

"Heard that one before" I replied; the cups were a rather strange and unwelcome change, but seemingly I could no longer get him to just let me drink straight from the bottle as I always do.

"Just make sure you don't end up walking into the middle of the crossfire"

"Wouldn't be the first time, and most likely not the last either"

"As cheerful as always right Haku?"

"Oh yeah, I feel like a wind chime…"

For the first time in a very long time, I was able to recall the full evening without any (well maybe a few, small ones) blanks or voids in the conversation, which soon turned to mundane, yet amusing topics. We started discussing amusement parks for no good reason at all and Ellion started telling me how they were quite different back into his days, and how the fortune wheel was all children dreamed of when a fair passed by town, instead of the tall, speedy coasters that now reigned among the main attractions.

"To be honest, they give me the chills you know; can't really trust your safety to a kid that gets minimum wage and talks using a speaker that produces a sound hoarser than my old coach after the 7th round"

"An old boxer afraid? Well that's certainly a new one" I poured myself another helping of sake; to be honest it was a burden having to pour a new drink every time; "thought it would be more scary to go up into a confined space with another guy who wants to beat your head out of its socket"

"It's different there you know; at least in the ring you can fight back, throw some punches, keep jabbing to maintain distance, defend yourself" and most likely unconsciously he started throwing punches as he spoke, like he was shadow boxing; his moves were quite different from those of an amateur, and did not show the least bit of rust, even if somewhat slow, most likely because it was just for show.

"In those damned plastic prisons" he continued; "you are just strapped into place and not given a chance to defend yourself until the whole thing ends! If something breaks, you just pray to land somewhere soft and that's it, I don't like that"

"Well, when you put it that way, it certainly sounds pretty bad"

"Haha, but won't you look at me, an old geezer still rambling about his good old days and how he's not a fan of modern times. I'm sure you must be bored to death by now Haku"

"Not at all" I replied, and it was a quite honest answer; "I was actually hoping for you to go for a little bit longer about those matches; if you made it to the 7th round it must have been a rather important fight"

"Oh my, don't get me started on that one! You seriously don't want to, because if I start, I might get carried away you know"

"Go ahead"

"Haha, help yourself then! It was the championship for the Japanese traditional boxing association"

"Can't say I've heard of them"

"Sure you haven't, they got "merged" with the big fish after they gained some popularity; back then we did things right, no bunch of redundant and annoying rules on the way, no inflated stars, just talent and fists, that was all there was to it. But anyway, it was a full 12-bout fight against Shikiro "trickster" and…"


	12. Chapter 12 - Cendrillon

Whew! Long days, tired noons, haven't been able to write much, but I'll pull thru, somehow, maybe. Meh I'll drop the sissy act and instead post some more updates. Somewhat lengthier one today, hope it makes up for the scarcity.

The night went on more or less like that until I remembered there were still some things to fine-tune and had to say goodbye so I could at least get some shuteye before tomorrow. Sure I could arrive somewhat late, but considering all that was to be done, I would keep that "somewhat" as low as possible; I could always make up for lost sleep later on…

Back at "home", things hadn't changed too much: the same dark creeks, the same bottles kept piling in the same corner; fortunately I had gotten laundry done, so I would have spare clothing for later on. Yawning, I got ahold of the flashlight and quickly found my way to bed, and just as quickly I got rid of the clothes I was wearing and tossed them into the laundry basket; seeing it empty was a somewhat unusual sight after all.

"Well, today was not too bad of a day indeed" I sighed to myself, and before I could change my mind I just shut everything off. It wouldn't remain shut for as long as I would've liked it tho…

"Huh… what the…" I mumbled uneasy as a vaguely familiar sound pulled me out of my sleep. Still not fully awake I half-blindly searched for the source, which happened to be… my cellphone

"Deja-vu…" were the first words that came to my mind, and seemingly to my mouth

"No time for fancy breakfasts! Come on Haku, rise and shine!" seemingly, Rin was much more of a morning bird than I was, and she was sure to let me know.

"What happened? Who died?" I replied sarcastic as I lazily sat on the edge of the bed, for then letting out a drawn out yawn.

"Might be the show if we don't do something! The twerp who was supposed to handle the main controls is nowhere to be seen, and we have less than 48 hours for the main event!" she didn't seem to have lost the tiniest bit of her voice at least.

"I don't like where this is going…" and it was true, for it was going towards pulling me out of bed.

"Aw, come on, it will be fun! You just have to drop by, take a look at the controls and learn how to use them! Piece of cake!"

"Isn't there a piece of cake I can have while sleeping?" as I yawned I heartlessly shook the near-empty bottle next to my bed; I sure needed to buy some more after all.

"You can sleep all you want after we're done! You know where to find me, hurry up!" for sure that was more like the happy, hyperactive (put that last one in bolds) Rin I remembered, and either way the pocket money had become quite handy to have around, so I just sighed and tried to keep myself together until it all ended.

"Just for the weekened" I said to myself as I finally gathered enough strength to get out of bed.

Since Rin didn't put any real urgency on the matter and taxis were expensive (we're talking Tokyo after all) I just took the subway all the way to north station; I could just walk from there, and seemingly, also catch up on the news.

"You heard about Miku's last concert?" a thrilled girl who seemed to be around her mid-teens squealed.

"Well duh! Who hasn't? Gee, I wish I was there" her friend replied; they seemed to share a single brain too.

"Wish indeed, tickets were like, impossible to get; it was ten minutes before all were sold out!"

"Lucky there was the podcast option; I mean, it's nothing like the real deal but…"

"I know, but at least you got to see Kaito-chan! I mean like… who could have seen that one coming?"

"Maybe someone with the basic ability to think?" I mumbled to myself, for media stunts were not exactly unheard of.

"Absolutely! That duet was… just amazing. That lucky Miku, going on dates with him and everything. You think they'll get serious?"

"I hope not! I mean, she can have anyone else! Why Kaito?"

"Well why not? I mean…" at that point, I think I somehow shut down my hearing sense; I would have probably lost it if I kept hearing so much about her, that lucky, damned, blue haired diva…

"You'll be Miku-mikued!" the aquamarine-hair idol singed as she turned around, oddly managing to keep the long ponytails out of her way; she had done so for so long it was second nature for her.

Into the crowd, barely anyone could have left (not that they wanted to), for a tightly packed human wall roared and cheered for the young idol that had now taken into the second encore, seemingly not breaking a sweat despite the fact it was more than half an hour past her scheduled on-stage time; she was good as new and ready to keep going.

As the singing finally came to an end, a disappointed "awww" came from the crowd, not unlike that of a kid denied a second helping of cake. Truth to be told she could have kept it for a while more, but she had to save something for the next live appearance after all. One last minute surprise made it so no matter how expensive the tickets were, everyone in the audience thought they were a bargain.

"Well hello there young lady, it's been a while" a familiar deep voice echoed across the stage, and everyone turned their heads towards the source: an unmistakable dark blue-haired character that slow and steadily made his way into the stage.

"Hey Kaito! Long time no see!" Miku replied cheerful as always

"Quite long indeed Miku. Would you mind it if we sing one last song, for the good old times?" Miku barely glanced at his managers, and a hurried nod of approval came from them. Kaito was already offering his hand towards her, in an old-fashioned dance style.

As soon as she took his hand, the band was already playing a rather familiar tune, and once the unmistakable bells started tolling, it wasn't hard for Miku to figure out the song, and opening with the starting vocals in just the right time. It wasn't hard to keep up from there…

"Rip my dress away, throw away my tiara!" they singed in unison as they held gloved hands, dancing and turning in the fashion of a high class ball. Wasn't it for the state of the art sound tech that was a rule for Miku's concerts, the cheering and yelling of the crowd would have completely shut down their voices.

By the time the duet ended and the confetti cannons had been shot at the audience, security was having a rather rough time holding everyone back. They would have probably overrun then, had their attention not shifted to Kaito making the obliged announcement:

"Thank you everyone for taking such good care of Miku! And remember, Romeo x Cinderella will premier in less than 1 month! Who knows, maybe there's a cameo of her? Although you can be certain you'll hear a lot of her songs on it"

A rather lengthy round of cheering and applause followed Kaito's publicitary intervention, and for sure it was a rather welcome cherry on top of the cake. The show had a nice surprise for the fans, Miku gained more popularity and Kaito got more hype for his upcoming film; everything going like clockwork, as it usually did for those two.


	13. Chapter 13 - Miku miku ni shite ageru

As you guys have most likely noticed, there's been quite some radio silence for a while, and there are some pretty good yet totally irrelevant reasons for that, some of which include an Amada turret punch and 7k plates to be done. Either way update tonight and to hopefully make up a bit for the delay, here's some doodling I did with Haku that you can fit in your screen; don't hesitate to tell me about it either. You seemingly can't directly access it here, so instead look for me (Daikataro) on a particularly deviant site made for art; you'll find out there what I got up my sleeve

Finally, the performance came to an end, but that didn't mean people leaving anytime soon, for the time was ripe for selling all kinds of associated merchandise. Paper fans, posters, hats, glowing wristbands, you name it, they have it, and of course they sold well; heck, they are even buying the ones I designed when I still worked for Miku, goes to show you people will pay for anything if prompted the right way…

Meanwhile, on the backstage, Miku's people promptly rushed to meet with Kaito's, most certainly for discussing royalties' payment and of course, scheduling future propaganda. They didn't even seem to notice when their represented ones walked away by themselves to catch up on being famous and all that stuff.

"Hey Kaito, never thought that, of all places, I would see you here! It's been like, forever!" Miku exclaimed with her usual cheerfulness.

"Haha indeed it has. Sorry about the radio silence, but I never thought the movie would be such a demanding task. If I had a yen for every perfectly good scene we have filmed over from scratch, I could retire just now"

"Oh come on! It can't be THAT bad, can it?"

"Well, the traveling for shooting exotic scenes is nice indeed, or would be if we could just lay back and relax for a couple days instead of storming in, getting the shots and storming out. Worst part is, with those damn green screens they will pull us out even if the scene isn't well done, and we have to do it over without the scenery to help!"

"Grow out of it big baby! You knew what you were up to when you signed up for acting" a man who looked easily fifty interrupted Kaito's ranting.

"But Mr. Fukiyama! It's such a…"

"Oh you'll make it thru a couple months of filming; besides, what are you complaining about? All that's left is post-production and that rarely, if ever involves you anymore!"

"Rarely? It's been three times that I have to remake dialogs this week alone!"

"What doesn't kill you just makes you stranger; besides, if this young lady here can pull singing and dancing for nearly two hours, you'll survive some lines to do-over.

"Haha, you haven't changed at all, have you Kaito?" Miku giggled, visibly amused by the scolding

"H… hey! I have changed a lot! Well, not that much, I mean…"

"Don't worry kid, you'll have plenty of time to complain now that the terms are settled" the old man said in an almost parental voice; "all I need is for both of you to sign a few documents and then you're off the hook. By the way, you should hit on this cutie for real and not just for shows! When you get to my age, you'll regret passing on opportunities like this!" Miku was getting quite the laugh at Kaito's expense at this point

"B… but I'm nowhere near your age old man!" he finally replied out of the blue.

"Haha, that's what I used to say back in the old days young man! And before I knew it thirty and so years had gone by and run over me! Now don't get me wrong, these old bones are still hardy enough for two lives!" he did some light calisthenics as he said this, and Miku snapped a Popsicle stick behind his back, making him jump in fear.

"The old bones sure are a bit snappy, aren't they?" Kaito replied while laughing

"Hmph! I'd like to see yours in a few years! But either way, we should make haste and get those signatures" as he said this he led the way towards the conference room.

"Haha, I like your people Kaito!" Miku laughed as she followed

"Well, they're more likable when they're not chasing me to do a ton of things at once but yeah, they're not that bad"

"Not that bad young man? I would like to remind you that your contract is about to end!"

"Hey, hey, easy there, I'm just saying I'm not exactly eager to get on such a heavy work load anytime soon, but when I get a break sure, bring it on!"

"A break? This young lady here sure hasn't taken any breaks! You could learn a thing or two from her"

"Oh, no, it's not like that!" Miku hastily denied; "I mean, I did pass up on some stuff and all…"

"Oh yeah, that new amusement park" Kaito interrupted; "I would really like to check that out some day; wonder if they have good ice-cream there, I could really use a cone right now. Either way that one looked big Miku, why did you pass on that?"

"Eh… I had my reasons you know… and besides, it was hard on my schedule… it's not like I couldn't but… hey what are those documents to sign again?"

"Always one straight to the business right miss? Don't worry, I'm sure you'll get the summary as soon as we make it" the old man quickly added, and then whispered nearby her; "don't worry, I'm sure you had your reasons to pass on something"

"Hey you dirty old man! What are you whispering there?" Kaito yelled in a seemingly pissed off voice

"Haha that's the spirit boy! Now just take her out somewhere nice and I won't get in the way of youth"

"What? I told you already! It's nothing like…" and as soon as it rose, the topic was forgotten. Glad it was, at least for the meantime…


End file.
